


Weightless

by Anonim



Series: Sins of the Father [1]
Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Character Study, Gen, newborn Malcolm, young father Martin Whitley
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-23 02:40:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21312817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anonim/pseuds/Anonim
Summary: Martin ponders the life he has in his hands.
Series: Sins of the Father [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1536439
Comments: 7
Kudos: 56





	Weightless

Martin masked it well, ever the expert at acting out the emotions he was supposed to be having, but he didn’t feel anything at all when Jessica told him she was pregnant. The whole concept of having a child of his own was alien to him, something in the distance that he couldn’t quite grasp, and that he wasn’t getting closer to as the months went on.

This started to change when they found out that they were going to have a son. Something about knowing the child’s gender made it all so much more tangible and real. The thought of having a son, a small version of himself, so full of potential… it excited him.

Him and Jessica spent a good part of the rest of her pregnancy preparing and discussing what they should name their child. With each day, the haze Martin felt clouding his feelings about having this baby dissipated further and further, until he no longer had to “play” the part of the excited soon-to-be father.

And now, he was holding that baby, tiny, weightless, soft, asleep and beautiful. His son was perfect.

Tiny digits wrapped around Martin’s finger as the baby slept, unaware of his surroundings, unaware of the concept of a father, the man who was holding him in his arms. This moment brought out from within him a rare, dense surge of emotions that he wasn’t used to, and inwardly, as he memorised his baby son’s face, he captured this feeling and recognised the importance of this moment.

‘Malcolm.’

There was something so right about it, so not against nature, so unusual for someone like him.

How would cultivating a life compare, he wondered, to the satisfaction of taking one?

**Author's Note:**

> I've been meaning to explore Martin's mind and his thoughts about Malcolm for a while. This is the first of a series that will explore their relationship from Martin's point of view.
> 
> Since, as a young woman with no kids, I'm far from being the father of a newborn, I took great inspiration from the songs "Presuming Ed" and "Weightless" by Elbow to write this. This is also the third Prodigal Son fic I named after an Elbow song... huh... I guess what I'm trying to say is: listen to Elbow.


End file.
